"least" meaning in English

See least in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /liːst/ Audio: en-us-least.ogg [US] Forms: lesser [positive], [comparative], least [superlative]
Head templates: {{adj|lesser|none|least}} [POS TABLE]
  1. The least is the smallest amount, importance, duration, etc. Synonyms: smallest, slightest
    Sense id: simple-least-en-adj-6pMm9CCz

Adverb

IPA: /liːst/ Audio: en-us-least.ogg [US]
  1. Having the smallest amount of a characteristic in a group.
    Sense id: simple-least-en-adv-5sN-Af4Z

Determiner

IPA: /liːst/ Audio: en-us-least.ogg [US] Forms: little, less [comparative], least [superlative]
Head templates: {{determiner-comp|little|less|least}} [POS TABLE]
  1. the smallest amount of; little of Tags: singular
    Sense id: simple-least-en-det-vfWK3G6W Categories (other): Indefinite determiners, Non-count determiners, Singular determiners
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "little",
      "raw_tags": [
        "determiner"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "less",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "least",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "little",
        "2": "less",
        "3": "least"
      },
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "determiner-comp"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "det",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Indefinite determiners",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Non-count determiners",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Singular determiners",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "She does the most cleaning, but the least cooking."
        },
        {
          "text": "No German, least of all the East Germans, wanted Soviet troops to stay."
        },
        {
          "text": "There are at least four problems with the idea."
        },
        {
          "text": "Nobody works hard, but she does the least."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "the smallest amount of; little of"
      ],
      "id": "simple-least-en-det-vfWK3G6W",
      "raw_tags": [
        "indefinite",
        "non-count"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "singular"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/liːst/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/li:st/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-least.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "tags": [
    "comparative"
  ],
  "word": "least"
}

{
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "most"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "People are least likely to live in the far north."
        },
        {
          "text": "The phone always rings just when you least expect it."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having the smallest amount of a characteristic in a group."
      ],
      "id": "simple-least-en-adv-5sN-Af4Z"
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/liːst/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/li:st/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-least.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "least"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "lesser",
      "tags": [
        "positive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "–",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "least",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "lesser",
        "2": "none",
        "3": "least"
      },
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "greatest"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The power is least in this case."
        },
        {
          "text": "The least difference is still important."
        },
        {
          "text": "He was not the least bit interested my ideas."
        },
        {
          "text": "This accident is the least of our problems."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The least is the smallest amount, importance, duration, etc."
      ],
      "id": "simple-least-en-adj-6pMm9CCz",
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "smallest"
        },
        {
          "word": "slightest"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/liːst/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/li:st/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-least.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "least"
}
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "little",
      "raw_tags": [
        "determiner"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "less",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "least",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "little",
        "2": "less",
        "3": "least"
      },
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "determiner-comp"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "det",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Indefinite determiners",
        "Non-count determiners",
        "Singular determiners"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "She does the most cleaning, but the least cooking."
        },
        {
          "text": "No German, least of all the East Germans, wanted Soviet troops to stay."
        },
        {
          "text": "There are at least four problems with the idea."
        },
        {
          "text": "Nobody works hard, but she does the least."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "the smallest amount of; little of"
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "indefinite",
        "non-count"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "singular"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/liːst/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/li:st/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-least.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "tags": [
    "comparative"
  ],
  "word": "least"
}

{
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "most"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "People are least likely to live in the far north."
        },
        {
          "text": "The phone always rings just when you least expect it."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having the smallest amount of a characteristic in a group."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/liːst/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/li:st/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-least.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "least"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "lesser",
      "tags": [
        "positive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "–",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "least",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "lesser",
        "2": "none",
        "3": "least"
      },
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "greatest"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The power is least in this case."
        },
        {
          "text": "The least difference is still important."
        },
        {
          "text": "He was not the least bit interested my ideas."
        },
        {
          "text": "This accident is the least of our problems."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The least is the smallest amount, importance, duration, etc."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "smallest"
        },
        {
          "word": "slightest"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/liːst/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/li:st/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-least.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "least"
}

Download raw JSONL data for least meaning in English (2.3kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the simplewiktionary dump dated 2024-12-20 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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